Edgerton OKs 2012 city budget

EDGERTON  The Edgerton City Council on Monday approved the city's 2012 budget and a 3 percent tax levy increase despite having no estimates on what the city's new tax rate will be.

The council approved a tax levy of $2.05 million, a total of about 2 percent, or $40,800 less than the maximum levy increase the state would have allowed. The total 2012 budget is projected at $3.32 million—a ½ percent decrease from the current budget.

The council approved the budget and levy with little discussion after a brief public hearing.

The city, like others in the state, has been waiting on manufacturing assessments from the state Department of Revenue. Manufacturing assessments are combined with local residential and commercial assessments to calculate the tax rate, but the Department of Revenue was delayed sending out totals.

City Clerk Cindy Hegglund said she'd learned Monday that the state has sent out the assessments, but she said that Rock and Dane county clerks wouldn't have tax rates available for at least a week.

Hegglund couldn't give an estimate Monday of the new tax rate, but the levy accounts for an across the board increase of about $60,000. The increase will be spread across all residential, commercial and manufacturing properties for the city tax portion of property tax bills.

The city council last week delayed a vote on its tax levy because the city was still waiting for manufacturing assessments. City officials said the delay was necessary because a city ordinance requires the city to have a projected tax rate prior to setting the levy.

City of Edgerton ordinances do not require a tax rate prior to setting a levy.

Hegglund said the state's delay on assessments has put city and county officials in a time crunch. Under law, the city must send out the first installment of tax bills no later than Dec. 15.

Hegglund said she believes the city will still be able to meet that deadline.

A small portion of the city of Edgerton is in Dane County. Hegglund said the Dane County Clerk's office reports it won't have tax assessments calculated until Nov. 28, and she's not sure when Rock County could finish calculating assessments.

"They're working frantically. They've got all the towns and villages in the county to reconcile," Hegglund said.